CubCrafters’ Effort To Go Public Generates Buzz

Company says a million shares of stock have been reserved since its announcement at Oshkosh.

CubCrafter’s goal with the proposed IPO is to raise $50 million. [Courtesy: CubCrafters]

The best kind of surprises are the good kind. The folks at CubCrafters, the makers of several Cub-inspired but improved-upon designs out of Yakima, Washington, say that Monday's announcement at EAA AirVenture—that the company was going public—has produced a very favorable response. 

The company's goal is to raise $50 million. Within a few days, 10 percent of that goal had been achieved, says Rod Turner, CEO of Manhattan Street Capital.“The level of enthusiasm on the part of investors has been remarkable. It’s a true testament to the reputation CubCrafters has earned over their 40 years in business."

The stock is available at $5 per share, with a minimum investment of  $400. This announcement is for the planned public offering of securities by CubCrafters, via the Reg A+ SEC exemption. Conversion of reservations into investments is contingent on the Securities and Exchange Commission qualifying the offering. The reservation period remains open at the $5 per share issue price. 

According to Brad Damm, CubCrafters vice president of sales and marketing, "In the first 48 hours since that announcement, over 1,000,000 shares of stock were reserved by potential investors excited for the CubCrafters Regulation A public offering."

CubCrafters is known for its Part 23 certified backcountry designs, as well as its light sport and experimental aircraft.

Patrick Horgan, CubCrafters’ president and CEO explained that backcountry aviation is growing, and CubCrafters is growing with it, seeing more pilot builders in their unique builder-assist program. The company is also enjoying increased sales with the introduction of the nosewheel landing gear configuration on the XCub. 

The company has increased production but still currently has a backlog of approximately two years.

Hogan noted that AirVenture was the perfect place to announce the public offering of the company.

“It’s always great to be here at EAA AirVenture. We couldn’t think of a better venue to launch this effort," Hogan said. "Hundreds of thousands of aviation enthusiasts, including many of our friends, fans and customers are here in Oshkosh this week, and the response has been overwhelmingly supportive. This is a first step in our journey to fulfill the vision of our founder Jim Richmond, who envisioned CubCrafters becoming a publicly-traded company.” 

 “Backcountry aviation is increasing in popularity and the demand for our aircraft continues to grow," said Brad Damm, CubCrafters’ vice president of sales. "We want to build airplanes faster to reduce the amount of time a customer has to wait to get a new airplane, we want to improve service and support for our owners, and we want to accelerate our focus on new innovation. Our goal is to exceed our customers’ expectations."

Meg Godlewski has been an aviation journalist for more than 24 years and a CFI for more than 20 years. If she is not flying or teaching aviation, she is writing about it. Meg is a founding member of the Pilot Proficiency Center at EAA AirVenture and excels at the application of simulation technology to flatten the learning curve. Follow Meg on Twitter @2Lewski.

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